Local Authority Design Work Figures

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will take steps to ensure that in future in the case of local authority and private architects' drawing offices the level of design work for building entering the production stage will be expressed in quarterly figures; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will now make a statement on the latest statistical survey of design work for building entering the production drawing stage, details of which he has received.

I shall explore with the local authorities the possibility of changing the local authority design figures
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from a four-monthly to a quarterly basis. Quarterly collection involves some difficulties for the local authorities, which is what led to the present arrangement. But now that valuable initial information has been collected I hope by some simplification of returns to get over these difficulties. This will put the series on the same basis as that published by the R.I.B.A.

While I thank the hon. Gentleman for that reply, which is most welcome and should make life a lot easier for us in future, I hope that he will not forget the Question which brought up this matter in the first place and will bear in mind that many of us are still concerned at the level of the present work as revealed in his Answer of 3rd December.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his Question. After his previous Question and my supplementary answer to it, I saw that there was a weakness in the arrangement. I have explained some of the difficulties encountered, but the hon. Gentleman and I both have the same objective in this.